I bought this as an alternative to the Tazo Zen I’d gotten as an office tea at a new short-term contract. (I don’t really stock up my tea collection at work until I’m sure I’ll be there for a while.) I like orange blossom scents in perfumes, so I thought why not in tea? Also, I enjoy jasmine tea straight, so why not in an herbal blend?
The scent of the unbrewed tea in the bag was cloying. It was very sweet, and the berries and orange were pretty overpowering. It also had the scent of fennel — a bit like the dishes of fennel and candy at Indian restaurants — and since I don’t usually like licorice or fennel in my teas (I won’t drink Stash for this reason), I suddenly found myself regretting the purchase. I decided to try it anyhow, though.
Because it’s a green, I only brewed it for about 2 minutes. I prefer my teas light, so I removed the bag as soon as I saw the color really spread throughout the cup. The result was very light and floral. It tasted mainly of chamomile, with very difficult to taste hints of orange and berry and jasmine, and a distinct aftertaste of licorice (the fennel and tarragon coming through) followed by orange oil. The taste of the green tea was pretty much overpowered by the herbal elements.
It was an okay taste — there wasn’t too much licorice flavor, it wasn’t overpoweringly sweet, and I enjoy the flavor of chamomile. I’ve been very slowly using up the bags I purchased, but I doubt I’ll be getting a second box.
